


Sandpaper Kisses

by pajama_cats



Category: The Good Doctor (TV 2017)
Genre: Established Relationship, Fluff, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-05
Updated: 2018-09-05
Packaged: 2019-07-07 03:26:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,034
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15899943
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pajama_cats/pseuds/pajama_cats
Summary: It was always easy for Neil to tell when Shaun was hiding something, especially when said thing doesn’t even bother hiding.





	Sandpaper Kisses

It was nice coming home after a stressful day of work, that being said Neil was eager to get back to his and Shaun’s apartment for some down time. Work probably would have been less of a handful if Shaun was there, but even he knows not to bother anyone on his team during their day off unless it was urgent. The downpour of rain throughout the day wasn't really helping his tired mood either.

So once his keys were in the door Neil was ready to go find Shaun, greet him with a kiss, throw off his soaked clothes and relax. Pulling Shaun against his chest in bed felt like the best idea on his mental list. Whether he was just craving warmth or Shaun he'd like to believe it was both.

“Shaun I'm- Shaun..?” Neil pauses once he gets inside finding it odd not to see Shaun greet him. Not like Shaun had to wait up for him, but even on days when the younger surgeon got off it was like he moved greeting Neil onto his routine. Neil was especially fond of the times Shaun would choose to kiss him eagerly before Neil could even lock the front door. 

Neil begins to investigate their apartment, but only to be stopped short at the kitchen when Shaun suddenly appears looking a bit disheveled. If he weren't concerned Neil might have found the look amusing and cute. Not like he's seen Shaun with slightly messy hair before, but it was still a nice sight nonetheless.

“Welcome home, Neil.” Shaun says a little breathlessly. Neil notes the small smile on his face and finds himself letting out a quiet sigh of relief.

“You been busy today? It's your day off you're supposed to take it easy Shaun.” Neil laughs lightly, a smile mirroring Shaun’s now on his face. Even his presence was enough to relax him.

“You could say that.” Shaun says carefully. Being curious, the older surgeon was about to press on the subject until he spots a small saucer on the kitchen island with milk in it.

“What's this?” 

“Milk.” Shaun simply says, but his behavior gives off a nervous vibe, hands unsure if they should stay clasped or not. Yep, he was definitely up to something.

“I meant why not use a glass? You won't get very far with a saucer.” Neil raises an eyebrow already suspecting something is up. There's only one good reason he can think of as to this strange situation, yet- 

A loud meow interrupts his thoughts and confirms his suspicions. He was only gone half the day, what happened in that time span?

“Was that a cat?” 

At that question Shaun averts his gaze away from Neil’s, hesitating on what to say and still unsure when he's looking at Neil with his mouth opening and closing. 

Instead of getting the verbal answer he wanted, Neil is greeted by the sight of a cat running into the kitchen and leaping up on the kitchen island to give its full attention to the saucer of milk. 

“The weather channel said it was going to storm until tomorrow morning and they said to make sure all pets are indoors,” Shaun pauses and Neil waits to see where this story is headed. It's clearly to how he got the cat, but since they didn't have a pet to begin with he wants to hear the rest of Shaun’s story. “And I went to my old apartment because the cat there would visit me and I wanted to make sure it was inside.” Shaun stops again chewing on his bottom lip. “But the new owner doesn't like pets so I took him.” 

“Wait you went into someone's apartment to grab the cat?” Neil feels baffled. Of course Shaun would barge right into someone’s new place for a cat. They’ve been living together for more than a month now and it didn’t even occur to him that the cat might have been Shaun’s.

“The cat was on the balcony wanting in so I went inside and took him. The person was not happy. But now the cat is.” Shaun rocks back on his heels, Neil following his gaze to the purring feline in their kitchen.

Neil’s not sure what to say as he processes it all. Considering the fact that Shaun once ran past a security guard at the airport with a knife to save a life he's not all that surprised that Shaun would storm into someone's apartment to save a cat from the rain. It was sweet really, how he'd spend his day off to go get a cat that probably wasn't his to begin with, but Shaun did seem to have a sweet side towards some animals considering he had a pet bunny as a child. 

The feeling of what felt like sandpaper on his hand shook Neil from his thoughts and he found himself smiling at the cat who went from licking his hand to nuzzling it. There weren't any strict codes against cats for their apartment and considering that there was a hopeful light in Shaun's blue eyes it was hard to deny keeping the cat.

Maybe he also has a soft side for animals, but that’s something he doesn’t really need to voice. It could just be between him and Shaun anyway.

“Does he have a name?” Neil catches Shaun's attention when he finally speaks.

“No.” Shaun says, looking back at the cat who jumps down and wanders off to who knows where.

Neil hums thoughtfully. “We can keep him, as long as I get to name him.” Neil unsuccessfully tries to hide his grin at the way Shaun beams towards the deal. It's hard to read Shaun at times, but as long as they've been together it's easy to tell when he's got the familiar look of fondness written all over his face.

“Okay,” And finally Shaun closes the gap between them with his arms around Neil’s neck, eager soft lips pressing against Neil’s who laughs softly into the kiss, but returns it just as eagerly. “That sounds good to me.”

Neil thinks he'd get Shaun ten more cats if the reward was this sweet.

**Author's Note:**

> My mind after 1 AM: Remember that time Shaun feed that cat at his apartment even though he was told not to so it wouldn't come around   
> Ahh, bless this boy. Three more weeks until season 2 as well <3 
> 
> Thanks for reading!


End file.
